Feb. 26, 2014, marks the 70th anniversary of the Sports Car Club of America. Whether you know it or not, if you’re a motorsports fan, you have SCCA to thank for much of the automotive competition awesomeness that takes place in America.

It started on Saturday night, Feb. 26, 1944, when seven car enthusiasts gathered in Boston, Mass., to form a club for those who appreciate “sport cars,” as they called them in the time of long ago. Back then, that meant open-top, two-seat cars; over seven decades, the definition has changed to encompass virtually anything with four wheels. In July 1945, SCCA’s growing membership took to Thompson Speedway in Thompson, Conn., for timed runs around an oval track. You could say that July marked the real start of the SCCA.

SCCA was a driving force behind early races in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Elkhart Lake, Wis., ultimately leading to the creation of dedicated road courses that still stand proudly. SCCA also led the charge for competition on airport runways, keeping motorsports alive when it otherwise would have foundered.

By the 1950s, the SCCA was sharpening its motorsports claws both on American tracks and internationally, notably in 1951 when SCCA was invited to compete at an Argentinean race. The result? SCCA members finished seventh, sixth, second, and first, with John Fitch leading the charge. This victory swung the door wide for U.S. competitors on the world stage, and SCCA members like Briggs Cunningham capitalized by beating the Europeans at their own game. More doors opened.

The truth is, SCCA is in a golden era, although it is different from the 1960s and ’70s. Unlike then, American drivers no longer need to prove themselves on a global stage. Thanks to those who laid the groundwork, today’s SCCA professional racing stars like Randy Pobst, Peter Cunningham, and Johnny O’Connell are proven commodities who race the world over without question, or shock, when their names appear at the tops of score sheets. Their victories are not taken in awe as they were in yesteryear because, frankly, the SCCA breeds some of the best drivers in the world. It’s a fact. The sky is blue, the sun shines brightest in the summer, and SCCA drivers are fast.

Who are the names we’ll be talking about in decades to come? It’s impossible to ignore great crossover wheelmen like Bryan Heitkotter and Jason Saini, and Rob Huffmaster is a name that will undoubtedly come up time and time again as he jumps from amateur to pro and back again more often than most change socks. At the same time, Solo’s greats like Robert Thorne, Sam Strano, Michael Maier, Gary Thomason, and Ryan Buetzer are some of the SCCA’s modern day legends, as are SCCA Club Racing powerhouses Lawrence Loshak, Andrew Aquilante, Andy McDermid, Scott Rettich, Jesse Prather, and Lee Alexander.

No, we are not in the same golden age of 40 or 50 years ago. Arguably, however, on SCCA’s 70th anniversary – we stand in an even brighter and exciting age than ever before.